TO BE
TAUGHT ORALLY
TO THOSE. WHO CA8N0T READ;
DESIGNED ESPECIALLY FOR THE
INSTRUCTION OF
THE SLAVES,
IN THB
PROT. EPISCOPAL CHURCH
IN THE
COFEDERATE STATES.
RALEIGH :
tiriOl Or " TH« CHURCH INTELLltlHCll.'
1862.
<^
CATECHISM.
LESSON I.
Quest. Who made the world ?
Ans. God.
Q. Who?
A. God.
Q. What did God make?
A. The world.
Q. Yes, God made the world. Did He make
an j thing else ?
A. He made all things in the world.
Q. What are some of the things in the world ?
A. Water, trees, cattle, and men.
Q. What?
A. Water, trees, cattle, and men.
Q. Yes, God made the world, and all things
in the world : — Who then made you ?
A. God. ; ^
Q. What were you made of?
A. '; Of the dust of the ground."
Q. How do you know this ?
4 A. CATECHISM,
A. God has told me so.
Q. Where has God told you so?
A. In His own book, called the Bible.
Q. What is God's book called.
A. The Bible.
Q. What do you say God has told us in the
Bible that you were made of?
A. "Of the dust of the ground."
Q. Who do you say made you " of the dust
of the ground ? "
A. God.
Q. Now, that you are made, can you keep
yourselves alive ?
A. No.
Q. Can your parents — your father and mother
— keep you alive ?
A. No.
Q. Who, then, keeps you alive?
A. God keeps me alive.
Q. How does God keep you alive ?
A. He gives me air to breathe, and water to
drink.
Q. What else does He give you ?
A. He makes the corn grow for my food.
Q. What else?
A. He makes every thing grow that I eat.
Q, How does God keep you alive ? «
A. By giving me air to breathe, and water to
drink, and by making every thing grow that Ij
A CATECHISM. •>
Q. Can you live without eating and drinking 1
A. No.
Q. God keeps you alive, then, you say, by
giving you things to eat and drink 1
A. Yes.
Q. Who do you say made you, and keeps you
alive, by giving you what you eat and drink?
A. God.
Q. Is God, then, a good or a bad being ?
A. He is a good Being.
Q. Is there any other being as good as God
is?
A. No. God is the best of all beings.
Q. Who is the best of all beings?
A. God.
LEiSON II.
Q. Who do you say made all things ?
A. God.
Q. Did He make them good, or bad ?
A. He made them good.
Q. How do you know this ?
A. He has told me so in the Bible.
Q. What has He told you?
A. That He made all things good.
Q. What?
A CATECHISM.
A. That He looked down upon every thing
He had made, and saw it was " very good."
Q. In what book has He said this ?
A. In His own book, called the Bible.
Q. Was man, at first, made good?
A. Yes, God made every thing good, and He
made man good.
Q. Did man continue to be good, as God, at
first, made Him ?
A. No, he became had.
Q. How did he become bad ?
A. By sinning against God.
Q. How did He sin against God?
A. By doing that which God had commanded
him not to do.
Q. Did God always command what was right?
A. Yes ; God is too great and good to com-
whatis wrong.
Q. You say God always commands what is
right ; ought not man, then, always to do what
God commands ?
A. Yes ; man ought always to do what God
commands.
Q. You say that God made the first man
good ; did the first man continue to be good ?
A. No ; for he did not always do what God
commanded.
Q. What was the name of the first man ?
A. Adam.
A CATECHISM. 7
Q. What was it?
A. Adam.
Q. Where did God put Adam when He made
him?
A. He put him iu the Garden of Eden.
Q. How do you know this ?
A. The Bible, God's own book, tells me so.
Q. Did He make any other person and put
there with Adam ?
Yes ; He made a woman, whom He called
Eve, and gave her to Adam to be a help to him.
Q. What did God command Adam and Eve
to do in the garden ?
A. He commanded them to dress and keep the
garden.
Q. What did God command them to eat?
A. He commanded them to eat of the fruit of
every tree in the garden, but one.
Q. What did God command them not to eat?
A. He commanded them not to eat of one tree
which grew in the garden.
Q. What was that tree called ?
A. It was ^called " the tree of knowledge of
good and evil."
Q. You say God commanded them not to eat
of this tree : Did they mind God ?
A. No; they disobeyed God; and ate of the
forbidden tree.
O A CATECHISM.
Q. How did God know that Adam and Eve
disobeyed him ?
A. God sees everywhere, and He saw them do
it,
Q. Can God see persons when they are alone
in some secret place?
A. Yes ; God sees every one of us all the
time.
Q. Can He see us in a dark night ?
A. Yes ; God can see us in the darkest night.
Q. How do you know this?
A. The Bible says, '* the darkness hideth nol
from God."
Q. God saw Adam and Eve, then, when they
ate the fruit of the forbidden tree ?
A. Yes ; He saw them when they thus sinned
against Him.
Q. Was not God angry with them for break-
ing His command?
A. Yes ; He was very angry.
Q. Did He punish them for it ?
A. Yes ; for He had told them, if they diso-
beyed Him, He would punish them.
Q. How did He punish them ?
A. He drove them out of the Garden of Eden.
Q. What else did he do to them ?
A. He cursed them and their children for their
•in.
Q. What?
A CATECHISM. 9
A. He cursed, or sentfevil on them and their
children for their sin.
LESSON III.
Q. You said that God sent evil upon Adam
and Eve, and upon their children, for sinning
against Him ; Who are their children ?
A. We are their children.
Q. Yes ; W3 descended from them, and there-
fore are their children ; Are we then sinners ?
A. Yes ; we are all sinners against God.
Q. Why are we all sinners?
A. Because we all break God's command-
ments.
Q. Is there any way by which we may be
saved from the curse of sin ?
A. Yes ; God gave His Son Jesus Christ to
gave us.
Q. Who is Jesus Christ?
A. He is the Son of God.
Q. Where was Jesus Christ before He cam©
to save us ?
A. He was in Heaven with God.
Q. Well, but is He not Himself God ?
A. Yes; He is God the Son.
10 A CATECHISM.
Q. With whom was He, then, before He
came to save us ?
A. He was with God, the Father.
Q. You say He came to save us — did He come
to save any body else ?
A. Yes; all mankind.
Q. Who did He come to save ?
A. He came to save us and all mankind.
Q. Why did He come to save all mankind?
A. Because all mankind are sinners.
Q. What is it to be a sinner?
A. It is to be under the curse of sin, for be-
ing a breaker of God's law.
Q. You said that Christ came to save all man-
kind : Why did He come to save them ?
A. Because all mankind were sinners.
Q. What did Christ do to save them?
A. He died for them. \
Q. How many did He die for?
A. For all mankind.
Q. Why did He die for all mankind ?
A. Because all mankind are sinners.
Q. Who are sinners ?
A . They who break God's law.
Q. How do you know this ?
A. The Bible says that " sin is the transgres-
sion of the law."
Q. How many have broken or transgressed
God's law.
A. CATECHISM.
11
A. All mankind.
Q. Are all sinners, then ?
A. Yes, all are sinners.
Q. Does the Bible say all are sinners?
A. Yes; The Bible says, li all have sinned."
Q. You say that God says in the Bible, that
all are sinners ; — How does God know this ?
A. God knows every thing.
Q. How does He know every thing?
A. Because, He is always everywhere, and
sees every thing.
Q. Does He see actions that are done in the
dark and secret places ?
A. Yes ; For nothing can hide us from God.
Q . Does He hear all bad words ?
A. Yes ; For God is with us whenever we
Q. Does God know all bad thoughts?
A. Yes; God sees into our hearts, and knows
all the thoughts we think.
Q. Why, then, are all mankind sinners?
A. Because they think bad thoughts, speak
bad words, and do bad things.
Q. What thoughts and words and things are
badf
A. Such as God has forbidden.
Q. If all mankind, then, think the thoughts,
speak the words, and do the things which God
hath forbidden, ought they not to be punished
for it?
12 A CATECniSM.
A. Yes ; All mankind for their sins deserve
the wrath and curse of Almighty God.
Q. What do their sins deserve ?
A. God's wrath and curse.
Q. How may they be saved from God's wrath
and curse ?
A. Through their Saviour Jesus Christ.
LESSON IV.
Q. What did Jesus Christ do to save them?
A. He died to save them.
Q. How did Jesus Christ die?
A. He was nailed to a cross of wood, by the
wicked Jews.
Q. In what way did they nail Him to the
cross ?
A. They drove nails through His hands and
feet, and fastened Him to the cross.
Q. How long did He hang on the cross?
A. Till He was dead.
Q. Wrhat did they do, to see if He was dead ?
A. They thrust a spear into His side.
Q. Who put Jesus Christ to death ?
A. The wicked Jews.
Q. You said Jesus Christ was the Son of God
A CATECHISM. 13
— Could He not, then, have delivered Himself
out of the hands of the Jews ?
A. Yes; Jesus Christ could do every thing.
Q. Why, then, did He let the Jews kill Him ?
A. Because He chose to die.
Q. Why did He choose to die ?
A. To save us from our sins.
Q. Why?
A. To save us from our sins.
Q. To save us from what?
A. Our sins.
Q. Was He not, then, very good and merci-
ful to us ?
A. Yes ; He was very good and merciful, to
die for our sins.
Q. You say Christ died to save us from our
sins ; — What is it to be saved from our sins ?
A. It is to have our sins forgiven, and taken
away from us.
Q. What is it to have our sins forgiven?
A. It is to get rid of beingpunished for them.
Q. What is it to have our sins taken away.
A. It is to have our desires to sin, or to do
bad things, taken from our hearts.
Q. .What else ?
A. It is to have desires to do good things put
into our hearts.
Q. What, then, is it to be saved from our sins ?
A. It is to be saved from the punishment of
14 A CATECHISM.
&in in hell, and from the wickedness of ain in our
hearts and lives.
Lesson v.
Q. What must we do to be saved from our
sins?
A. We must be sorry for them.
Q. What must we do ?
A. We must be sorry for our sins, or repent
of them.
Q. What else must we do ?
A, We must be baptised, or christened.
Q. Why must we be baptised, to save us from
our sins?
A. Because Glod, by St. Peter, the Apos-
tle, tells us we must.
Q. What does St. Peter say?
•&. He says :-r- " Repent and be baptised
every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ,
for the remission of sins.
Q. What does he say we must do first?
A. He says we must " Repent. ,;
Q. What is it to repent ?
A. It is to be so sorry for our sins, as to make
u« stop sinning.
Q. What docs St. Peter sav we must do next ?
A CATECHISM. 15
A. He says, " wo must be baptised, every one
of us."
Q. Must do what ?
A. "Be baptised. "
Q. How many of us ?
A. " Every one of us."
Q. In whose name does he say we must be bap-
tised ?
A. "In the name of Jesus Christ."
Q. Why, in the name of Jesus Christ?
A. Because, " there is no other name given,
whereby we can be saved."
Q. For what purpose does He say we must be
baptised ?
A. " For the remission of sins."
Q. When St. Paul was converted, what did
the minister tell him to do ?
A. He told him to "arise and be baptised,
and wash away his sins."
Q. When persons are baptised, whom does St.
Paul say they were baptised into ?
A. "Into Christ."
Q. Whom does he say, " they put on ? "
A. He says they " put on Christ,"
16 A CATECHISM.
LESSON VI.
Q. Have you been baptised, or christened ?
A. Yes.
Q. Why were you baptised when you were
children ?
A. Jesus Christ says, " Suffer the little child*
ren to come unto me, and forbid them not, for
of such is the kingdom of God."
Q. What is the kingdom of God ?
A. It is the Church on earth, and in heaven.
Q. Who is the Head of this Church ?
A. Jesus Christ.
Q. When you were baptised into Christ, where
were you put ?
A. I was put into His body, the Church.
Q. What did you get when you were baptised
into Christ?
A. I got my name.
Q. What name ?
A. My Christian name,
Q. Why do you call it your Christian name ?
A. Because I was baptised into Christ, or
made a Christian in my baptism.
Q. But did you not get more than a name in
your baptism ?
A CATECHISM. 17
A. Yes, I got more than a name.
Q. Certainly you got more than a name ; for
you said St. Peter told the people to be baptised,
to have their sins forgiven. What then did you
get in baptism, besides a name?
A. I got the forgivenesss of my sins'.
Q. Did you not get God's Holy Spirit also ?
A. Yes, I got the Holy Spirit also.
Q. Who is the Holy Spirit?
A. He is the third person in the Godhead.
Q. What do you mean by the Godhead ?
A. I mean three persons in one God.
Q. Which is the first person ?
A. God, the Father.
Q. Which is the second person ?
A. God, the Son.
Q. Which is the third person ?
A. God, the Holy Ghost.
Q. Which person did you say you got in your
baptism ?
A. The third person ; God, the Holy Ghost.
Q. What do you mean by getting the Holy
Ghost, or Holy Spirit, in your baptism ?
A, I mean that I am put into the body of
Christ, where the Holy Ghost comes into my
heart.
Q. What does the Holy Ghost come into your
heart for ?
18 A CATECHISM.
A. To make me hate all that is bad. and help
me to love and do all that is good.
LESSON VII.
Q. Into what state, then, were you put at
your baptism ?
A. I was put into a state of salvation.
Q. What do you mean by a state of salvation ?
A. I mean a state in which, through Christ,
I may be saved.
Q. So you are baptised into Christ, as your
Saviour, are you ?
A. Yes; I am baptised into Christ, as my Sa-
viour.
Q. As what ?
A. As my Saviour.
Q. How ought you to feel towards your heav-
enly Father, for so great a blessing ?
A. I ought to thank Him with all my heart.
Q. What ought you to do for so great a bless-
ing?
A. I ought always to obey my heavenly
Father.
Q. If you do not obey ITim, what will He do
to you ?
A CATECHISM. 19
A. Ho will punish me.
Q. Should you not fear, then, to disobey your
heavenly Father ?
A. Yes, I should always be afraid of diso-
beying Him.
Q. Does God see you when you disobey Him ?
A. Yes; "He is about my path and about
my bed, and spieth out all my ways."
Q. You have been taught that, in your bap-
tism, you got your Christian name, got the re-
mission of your sins, and the gift of the Holy
Ghost. Now this means that, at baptism, "You
were made a member of Christ, a child of
God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven."
What were you made at baptism ?
A. "I was made a member of Christ, a child
of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of
heaven."
Q. Yes, you were baptised into Christ, as you
have been taught, and so became " a member of
Christ." How did you become a member of
Christ?
A. By being baptised into Christ.
Q. I told, you that Christ is the Head of the
Church; — What, then, is Christ's body ?
A. The church is Christ's body.
Q. Where are we told that Christ is the Head
of the church ?
A. Id that part of the. Bible called the New
Testament.
20 A CATECHISM.
Q. Where are we told that the church is the
body of Christ ?
A. In the New Testament.
Q. When you were baptised, you became, you
say, a member of Christ; — As a member of
Christ, how ought you to live ?
A. I ought to live a holy life, as Christ lived.
Q. What ought you to do ?
A. I ought to do good, as Christ always did.
Q. You said that, in your baptism, you were
made, also, ' a child of God ; ' — Were you a child
of God when you were born ?
A. No ; I was the child of the wicked one.
Q. What is it, then, to be made "a child of
God " in holy baptism ?
A. It is to be taken out of the family of the
wicked one, and- put into the family of God.
Q. Yes, in holy baptism, you were made "a
child of God " ; — As a child, of God, what ought
you to do ?
A. I ought to love and obey my heavenly
Father.
Q. You said, too, that in baptism you were
made an "inheritor of the kingdom of heaven ; "
— Now, I want to show you what this means.
If I had come to you this morning, and told you
that your master [or that some kind friend] had
died, and left you a rich present or gift, which
A CATECHISM.
9.1
you were to have when you were grown up, if
you were good children, you would know what
I meant, would you not ?
A. Yes; I should.
Q. And you would be anxious to be good
children, that you might get the rich gift, would
you not ?
A. Yes; I should.
Q. Well, then, I have come to tell you that
Jesus Christ, your blessed Saviour, when He
died upon the cross, left you all a rich gift, in
heaven, called " eternal life ; " and when you
were baptised, you were put in the way, if you
are good children, of getting that rich gift in
heaven — that eternal life ; — And so you are called
" inheritors of the kingdom of heaven : " — What,
then, is it to be made an " inheritor of the king-
dom of heaven " at your baptism ?
A. It is to be put into the way of gettiDg ' ' the
gift of God, which is eternal life."
Q. If you are thus made inheritors of the
kingdom of heaven, ought you not to strive every
day to get to heaven ?
A. Yes, I ought.
A CATECHISM.
LESSON VIII.
Q. You said that, at. your baptism, -you were
made a member of Christ ; — If you do not do
good as Christ did, will you continue to be his
member ?
A. No ; I shall be cast away from Christ.
Q. You said that, at your baptism, you were
made a child of God ; — If you disobey God, will
you still be His child ?
A. No :' If I disobey God, He will not let me
be His child.
Q. You said that, at your baptism, you were
made inheritors of the kingdom of heaven ; but
will you get eternal life in heaven, if you^do not
strive to go there ?
A No ; but I shall be sent down to hell.
Q. How are you to strive or try to go to
heaven ?
A. I must have nothing to do with the devil
and his works ; — which I gave upjat my baptism.
Q. In what way are you to shun the devil and
his works ?
A. By keeping within me no bad thoughts;
by speaking no bad words ; and by doing no bad
things .
a CATECirrs.vr. 23
Q. What do you mean by keeping within you
no bad thoughts ?
A. I mean that I must not hate any body, nor
wish to hurt any body, nor wish to do any
wrong.
Q. What do you say you mean by keeping
within you no bad thoughts or wishes ?
A. I mean I must not hate any body, nor
vnsh to hurt any body, nor wish to do any
wrong.
Q. What do you mean by speaking no bad
words ? -
A. I mean that I must not tell lies, nor call
hard names, nor curse and swear.
Q. Who is the Father of lies ?
A. The devil is called, in the Bible, "the
Father of lies."
Q. Why is he called the Father of lies?
A. Because he told the first lie ; and because
he tempts every body else to tell lies.
Q. What was the first lie that the devil told
to tempt mankind ?
x\. He told Adam and Eve, in the garden of
Eden, to eat of the forbidden fruit, and it should
not hurt them ; when God told them it should
hurt them.
Q. When they listened, to the devil, and ate,
did the fruit hurt them ?
A, Yes, it did hurt them ; and the devil knew
24 A CATECHISM.
it would, when he said it would not.
Q. Does the devil try to? make men think
now, as he did our first parents, that sin will
not hurt them ?
A. Yes ; he tempts men to think now that sin
will not hurt them.
Q. But does sin hurt them ?
A. Yes ; sin always hurts those who do it.
Q. So the devil is the Father of lies, because
he told the first lie, and because he always tries
to make men think that lies, and other bad words
will not hurt them ?
A. Yes ; he is the Father of lies because of
this.
Q. Whose children, then, are those who tell
lies, use hard names, and curse and swear?
A. They are the children of the devil.
Q. When, in baptism, you become the child-
ren of Grod, what do you promise to renounce or
give up ?
A. "I promise to renounce the devil," or to
tell no lies, use no hard names, and not to curse
and swear.
Q. But if you do this after having been made
the children of G-od, what will you again become ?
A. The children of the devil.
Q. What do you mean by doing no bad things,
such things as the devil tempts you to do ? •
A CATK^niaM. 25
A. I mean that I must not hurt any body ;
must not disobey my parents — [nor disobey my
master] nor disobey God.
Q. But can you not disobey your parents [and
your master] without their knowing it ?
A. Yes ; but God knows it ; for God always
sees me.
LESSON IX.
Q. What else must you do to get to heaven ?
A. I must believe all that God has told me
about the way to get there.
Q. In what book has He told you how to get
there ?
A. In His own book, the Bible.
Q. How many parts are there of the Bible ?
A. Two.
Q. What are they called ?
A. The Old Testament and the New Testa-
ment.
Q. In which part has God told you most about
getting to heaven ?
A. In the New Testament, or the Gospel.
Q. What does the Gospel tell you about get-
ting to heaven ?
26 A CATECHISM.
A. It tells me about my Saviour, who showed
me how to get there.
Q. Did your Saviour do nothing more than
show you how to get to heaven ?
A. Yes ; He died to open the way for my go-
ing there.
Q. Does not the Gospel tell you, too, a good
deal about God the Father, and God the Holy
Ghost?
A. Yes; It tells me about God the Father,
who made me and all the world ; — about God
the Son, who redeemed me and all mankind ; —
about God the Holy Ghost, who sanctifieth me
and all the people of God.
Q. How much of the Gospel did yOu promise
at your baptism to believe ?
A. I promised to believe all the Gospel.
Q. What are the chief parts of the Gospel
called in the promises of your baptism ?
A. They are called "the Articles of the
Christian Faith."
Q. Yes; they are called the Articles of the
Christian Faith ; Where are these Articles of the
Christian Faith put together ?
A. They are put together in the "Apostle's
Creed."
Q. You say the Articles of the Christian Faith
are put together in the Apostle's Creed, or be-
lief;— Can you say this creed or belief? Let me
A ctXtxcuish. -<
hear you ; — all saying it slow ; first after mo.
A. "I believe in God the Father," &c.
Q. What do you chiefly learn in these articles
of your belief?
A. u First, I learn to believe in God, the
Father," who made me and all the world ; Sec-
ondly, in God the Sou,, who redeemed me and all
mankind; Thirdly, in God the Holy Ghost, who
sanctineth me and all the people of God."
Q. In order to get to heaven, you say, you
promised to give up, or renounce the devil and
all his works ; and to believe all the Articles of
the Christian Faith ; but did you not promise
still more ?
A. Yes ; I promised also to keep God's holy
will and commandments, and walk in the same
all the days of my life.
Q. What do you mean by God's command-
ments ?
A. I mean all that God has told me to do in
the Bible.
Q. Where are the chief commandments put
together ?
A. In the ten commandments.
Q. How many of these commandments are
there ?
A. Ten.
Q. Which is the first commandment ?
[Here let the Cateehist teach the eommandiiienta, 33
found in the Church Catechism, i
28 A CATECHISM.
LESSON X.
Q. What did you say you promised to keep ?
A. These commandments.
Q. You were baptised when you were infants;
— how, then, could you promise to keep these
commandments, at your baptism ?
A. I promised by my sponsors.
Q. Who are your sponsors ?
A. Those persons that answered, in my name,
when I was baptised.
[Here the Oatechist should explain the nature of the
sponsorship.]
Do you think that you are bound to believe
and do what your sponsors promised for you?
A. Yes ; I do think so.
Q. You promised, you say, to keep the com
mandments ; — How must you feel towards God
and man, in order rightly to keep them ?
A. I must "love God with all my heart; and
my neighbor as myself."
Q. How must you show that you love God
with all your heart ?
A. I must show it, in delighting above all
things to worship and obey God.
A CATECHISM. 29
Q. How are you to show that you love your
neighbor as yourself ?
A. I am to show it by always doing my duty
to my neighbor, as God has commanded me.
Q. Who is 'your neighbor?
A. Every body who lives with me, and around
me, and has the control over me.
Q. Can you name some persons ?
A. My playfellows, [my master and mistress]
and my parents.
Q. How are you to show your love to your
playfellows ?
A. I am never to curse them, nor hnrt them,
but to try always to do them good.
Q. How are you to show your love to [your
master and mistress] and your parents ?
A. I am never to lie to them, to steal from
them, nor speak bad words about them ; but al-
ways to do as they bid me.
Q. But can you keep the commandments
without some one to help you ?
A. No ; I cannot do it of myself alone.
Q. How do you know this ?
A. God says, in the Bible, that "we are not
sufficient of ourselves, to think any thing as of
ourselves."
Q. By what means, then, are we to keep
God's commandments ?
A. By God's help.
;o
A CATECHISM
Q. How Ire you to gel God's help?
A. By praying for it.
Q. Who has told you so?
A. My blessed Saviour.
Q. What does He say ?
A. He says, " ask, and it shall be given you."
Q. Must you not feel that you want what you
ask for?
Yes ; I must feel that I want the things I ask
for.
Q. Suppose, right after dinner, you should
go to your mother and ask for bread, when she
knew you did not want it, would she give it to
you? |
A. No ; because I asked for what I did not
want.
Q. If you kneel down, then, and pray to God
to help you to do good, when you don't wish to
do good, will He give you His help?
A. No; because lie sees into my heart, and
knows that I don't wish Him to help me.
Q. What, then, is it to pray to God?
A. It is to ask God for what I wish to have.
A CATECHISM.
LESSON XI.
31
Q. Has our blessed Saviour given us the words
of a prayer ?
A. Yes; He has given us the words of a
prayer.
Q. What is the prayer called ?
A. It is called The Lord's Prayer.
Q. Why is it called The Lord's Prayer ?
A. Because our Lord gave it to us, and com-
manded us to use it.
Q. Say the Lord's Prayer, will you, alto-
gether, as the people say it at church ?
A. "Our Father," &c.
Q. To whom do you pray, in this prayer ?
A. To " Our Father," in heaven.
Q. Why do you call God your Father ?
A. Chiefly, because I was made his child at
my baptism.
Q. What were you made at your baptism ?
A. "A child of God."
Q. Yes ; you were made God's child at your
baptism, and therefore God became, in the best
sense, your Father. But is God really a good
Father to you ?
A. Yes; He is a better Father. to me than my
earthly father is.
32 A CATECHISM.
Q. How is God a better Father to you, than
your earthly father is ?
A. God can do every thing for me which He
chooses, but my earthly father cannot do every
thing for me which he chooses.
Q. What cannot your earthly father do for
you, which God can do for you ?
A. My earthly father cannot keep me from
being sick, but God, my heavenly Father, can.
Q. Can your earthly father keep you alive
when you are dying ?
A. No ; he cannot, but God, my heavenly
Father, can.
Q. Can your earthly father save your soul ?
A. No; my earthly father cannot save my
soui, but my heavenly Father can save my soul ?
Q. But will your heavenly Father save your
soul?
A. Yes ; if I obey Him, He will save my soul,
for Christ's sake.
Q. Ought you not to love your earthly parents
very much, for being kind to you?
A. Yes ; but I ought to love my heavenly
Father a great deal more ; for He is a great deal
better and more kind to me.
4 CATECHISM. SS
LESSON XII.
Q. You say, God can do for you every thing
He chooses ; but that your earthly parents can-
not ; — Where do you say, when repeating the
Lord's Prayer, that God is ?
A. I say, He is "in heaven."
Q. What are the words ?
A. " Our Father, who art in Iteaven."
* Q. ' But, if God is in heaven, can He do you
good here on earth ?
A. Yes; He can do me good here on earth,
because He looks down upon me, and sees me all
the while.
Q. But although God sees you all the while,
how can He know what you want ?
A. God knows what I want ; because He
knows all things.
Q. God may know what you want; but, if
He is up in heaven, can He give you what you
want?
A. Y"es ; He can give me what I want; be-
cause He can dq all things,
Q. God's power then is in every place, as well
as His eyes ?
A. Yes; God's power is in every place.
34 A CATECHISM.
Q. Although God is in heaven, then, He can
do every thing He chooses to do here on earth?
A. Yes; He "can either do us good, or can
send evil upon us, just as He chooses.
Q. When will He do us good ?
A. When He looks down upon us and sees
that we are doing what He has to>d us to do in
the Bible.
Q. When will He send evil upon us ?
A. When He sees that we are not doing what
He has told us to do in the Bible.
LESSON XIII.
Q. When repeating the Lord's Prayer, you
said, * ' Hallowed be Thy name ; " — What do you
pray for in these words ?
A. When I say, — " Hallowed be Thy name,"
'I pray God, that. I, and all people, may fear
Him and honor His holy name and word.
Q. What is it to feai-God ?
. A. It is to have such an awful feeling of God's
presence, as to keep me from thinking or doing
any thing wrong.
Q. What is it to honor God's holy name?
A. It is always to speak good of God ; and
never to take Hie name in vain.
A PATEOHISM. 85
Q. What is it to honor God's holy word-?
A. It is always to listen to God's holy word,
when it is read to mo ; and always to try to do
what it commands me.
Q. What do you pray for, then, when you
say, ' ' Hallowed be Thy name ? ".
A. I pray, that I, and all people may fear
God, and honor His holy name and word.
lesson XIV.
Q. What do you pray for when you gay,
" Thy kingdom some? "
A. I pray, that God's church may be set up
in every place, and that every person may obey
Christ, its Head.
Q. What is the Church called in the Lord's
Prayer?
A. God's kingdom.
Q. Who did you say, was placed over God's
kingdom ?
A. God's only Son, Jesus Christ.
Q. What do you say, then, that you ask
God for, when yon pray, " Thy kingdom
come ? "
86 A CATECHISM
A. I ask (rod, that His, holy church may be
get up in every place,, and that every person may
obey Christ, its Head. *
LESSON XV.
Q. What do you pray for, when you say in
the Lord's Prayer, " Thy will be done ?."
A. I pray that my will,' and every body's will,
may submit to God's will.
Q. Where does God make His will known to
us?
A. In His word, and in His acts.
Q, What is God's word ; in which He .makes
His will known to us ?
A. The Bible.
Q. What are God's. acts, by which He makes
His will known to. us ?
A. Every thing that happens to us is God's
act.
Q. Can you tell me one thing, which as God's
act, makes known God's will?
A. When I am sick; God makes me so, tado
me good.
Q. Can you mention another act of God which
tells His will ?
A CATKUIURM.
87
A. When Death comes to take me away, or
any of my friends, God sends it, to do us good.
Q. You say, God makes known His will, thus
in His word and acts ; — how are you to submit to
God's will ?
A. By wishing every thing to be just as God
wishes it to be.
Q. How are you to submit to God's will made
known in the Bible ?
A. By trying to do every thing which God
commands in the Bible.
Q. How are you to submit to God's will as
made known in His acts ?
A. When God sends trouble, or sickness or
death, I am to feel that God does right.
Q. In the Lord's Prayer, you pray, that God's
will may be done on earth as it is in Heaven ;—
Who do God's will in heaven ?
A. The angels and blessed spirits.
Q. How do they do God's will ?
A. They do (it quickly, heartily, and con-
stantly.
Q. You say, they do it quickly t
A. Yes ; just as soon as they know it.
Q. You say, they do it heartily?
A. Yes ; it makes them happy to do it,
Q. You say, they do it constantly?
A. Yes; thev never stop doing H
38 A OATEOHISM
Q. How do you say, the angels and blessed
spirits do the will of God ?
"A. They do it quickly ; — that is, just as soon
as they know it ; — they do it heartily ; — that is,
it makes them happy to do it ;— they do it con-
stantly ; — that is, they never stop doing it.
Q. How then are vie to do God's will ?
A. We must do it quickly, heartily, and con-
stantly.
LESSON XVI.
Q. What do you pray for, in the Lord's
Prayer, when you say ; — Give us this day, our
daily bread?"
A. First, I pray for such things as are good
for our bodies on earth ; — and secondly, for such
things as are needful to fit our bodies and souls
for Heaven,
Q. What would become of our bodies, if God
did not give us our daily bread ?
A. They would die.
Q. What would become of our souls, if God
should not give us our daily bread ?
A, They also, would die,
A. CATECHISM, 59
Q. What do you mean, -by saying, the soul
would die ?
A. I mean that the soul would have in it no
spiritual life now, and no hope of eternal life
hereafter.
lesson xvn,
Q. What do you next pray for, in the Lord's
Prayer? •
A. I pray God, to "forgive us. our tres-
passes."
Q. What are omy trespasses f
A. They are our sins.
Q. You pray, then, that God would forgive us
our trespasses or sins ; — but, in. what manner do
you pray, that God would forgive us our tres-
passes ?
A. I pray that God would forgive us our tres-
passes, " as we forgive those who.trespass against
us."
Q. How do ofchers sin against you?
A. By cursing me — telling lies about me- — or
striking me.
Q. What must you do to those who thus sin
against you ?
40 A CATECHISM.
m
A. I must forgive them.
Q. What, if you do not forgive them !
A. Then, God will not forgive me.
Q. Why?
A*. Because, I pray to Him to forgive me, just
as I forgive others.
Q. How are you to forgive others when they
trespass against you ?
A. I am not to hurt them because they hurt
me — but I must pray for them and try to do
them good.
Q. What if you do to them just as they do
to you? ■
A. Then God will not forgive my sins, but
will punish me.
LESSON XVIII.
Q. What do you ask of God, when you pray,
4 f Lead us not into temptation ?"
A. I ask of God, that He would never put me
into such a state of life, as might tempt me to
disobey Him. •
Q. But, if you ask God not to lead you into
places where you might be tempted to sin, ought
you not to keep away from such places ?
A, Yes ; I ought to keep away from all places
A CATECHISM. 41
and persons that would learn me to speak bad
words or do bad things.
Q. But do you not ask God for something
else in this part of the Lord's Prayer ?
A. Yes ; I ask Him, to "deliver me from
evil."
Q. What do you mean, when you ask God to
deliver you from evil ?
►A. I mean to ask Him, to " save and defend
me in all dangers both of soul and body — to keep
me from all wickedness, from my spiritual enemy,
and~from everlasting death."
Q. Through whom do you hope chat He will
do this ?
A. Through Jesus Christ my Saviour.
Q. At the end of the Lord's Prayer you say
" Amen ;"- — Why do you say so ?
A. I say so, because I desire that what I
have prayed for, may come to pass.
Q. What do you mean, then, by the v^ord
" Amen?"
A. I mean, so let it be, as I have prayed.
42 A CATECHI3M,
LESSON XIX.
Q. ' ' How many Sacraments hath Christ or-
dained in His Church ?"
A. " Two only, as generally necessary to sal-
vation."
Q. What are they ?
A. " Baptism and the Supper of the Lord."
Q. " What do you mean by the word, Sacra-
ment?"
A. "I mean, an outward, visible sign of an
inward spiritual grace/'
Q. What is meant by a visible sign?
A. It is something that I can see, used to point
out something that I cannot see.
Q. What is the thing you can see in bap-
tism ?
A Water put upon the person or child by the
minister.
Q. What is the thing you cannot see in bap-
tism, but which is pointed out to you by the
water ?
A. " It is a death unto sin. and a new birth
unto righteousness."
Q. What do you say you ' die unto in bap-
tism ?
A. I die unto sin.
- Q- What do you'mean by dying unto sin?
A. I mean that at my baptism God for Christ's
sake, pardoned my sin, and gave me grace not
to sin any more.
Q. What do you say .you have a new birth
unto, in baptism ?
A. I have a new birth unto righteousness.
Q. What do you mean by that ?
A. I mean, that, at my baptism, I got the
grace of the Holy Spirit, to enable me to live a
new and holy life.
Q. What is the outward, visible sign, or the
thing that you see, in the Lord's Supper ?
A. Bread and wine, given to the people by
the minister.
Q. What is the inward, spiritual grace, or the
thing you cannot see, in the Lord's Supper ?
A. The body and blood of Christ, spiritually
taken and received by the faithful.
LESSON
Q. You say, a sacrament is an outward visi-
ble sign of an inward, spiritual grace ; — by
whom was it ordained or appointed ?
A. By Ciirist Himself.
44 A CATECHISM.,
Q. Why was the outward visible sign or-
dained?
A. It was ordained, as the means whereby we
receive the inward spiritual grace : and as a proof
that we do receive this grace.
Q. You say Christ ordained the sacraments ;—
did He appoint any persons to give the sacra-
ments to the people ?
A. He appointed His ministers to do it.
Q. Who are ministers of Christ ?
A. They whom Christ sends to be ministers.
Q. How does Christ send His ministers ?
A. He does it by ordination, or u the laying
on of hands."
Q. Whom did He appoint to lay hands on His
ministers and ordain them ?
A. He appointed Bishops to do it.
Q. Who are Bishops ?
" A. They are the chief ministers in the church
of Christ.
Q. Who was the first Bishop ?
A. Jesus Christ Himself.
Q. Whom did Jesus Christ make Bishops,
when He left the world ?
A. He made the Apostles Bishops, such as St.
Paul, St. Peter, and St. John.
Q. flow many Apostles did Jesus Christ send
forth ?
A. He sent forth twelve
A CATHCHIBM. 46
Q. How many did He leave on earth, when
He ascended into heaven ?
#A. He left eleven.
Q. What had beeonic of one of thein ?
A. He had killed himself.
Q. Why did he kill himself?
A. Because he was a wicked man, and sold
Jesus Christ to the Jews.
Q. What was the name of that Apostle who
killed himself?
A. His name was Judas*
Q. Was any one put in the place of Judas,
after J^sus Christ ascended into Heaven ? -
A. Yes, Matthias was put in the place of
Judas.
Q. Who appointed Matthias ?
A. The Apostles appointed him.
Q. What right had the Apostles to appoint
others to the ministry of Jesus Christ ?
A. Jesus Christ gave the Apostles power to
appoint others.
Q. Was any one made an Apostle, after our
Lord went to heaven, besides Matthias ?
A. Yes. St. Paul.
Q. Did the Apostles appoint any Bishops to
fill their places when they were dead ?
A. Yes, they appointed Timothy and Titus
and others,
Q. Did the Apostles give those Bishop?
46 A CATECHISM.
whom they appointed, power to appoint others ?
A. Yes ; power was given to be handed down
from Bishop to Bishop as long as the worjj}
stands.
Q. Are there any other ministers in the church
of Christ, besides Bishops ?
A. Yes ;, Priests and Deacons.
Q. Have Priests or Deacons power to ordain
ministers ?
A. No!
Q. Who, then, ordain Priests and Deacons ?
A. Bishops ordain them.
Q. How many orders of ministers are there,
then ?
A; Three, Bishops, Priests and Deacons.
* Q. Who. have power to ordain all ministers!
A. Bishops.
Q. Has any person a right to give baptism or
the Lord's Supper to the people, who has not
been ordained by a Bishop ?
A. No! "
Q. What is the true church of Christ ?
A. It is that body of Christians in which £he
pure word of Grod is preached, and the sacra-
ments are rightly given to the people.
Q. When are the sacraments rightly given to
the people ?
A. When they are given by those miniver*
who are ordained by bishops.
A CATECHIBM. 47
Q. How many orders of ministers did Christ
ordain in His church ?
*A. Three orders — Bishops, Priests, and Dea-
cons.
Q. Do you belong to .the true church of
Christ ?
A. Yes ; because I belong to a church where
the pure word of (rod is preached, and His
sacraments are given by those ordained by Bish-
ops.
Q. Has Christ promised to be with jhis true
Cliurch?
A. Yes ; Christ has promised to be with it,
as long as the world stands.
Q. Why is it necessary that Christ should b*
with His church ?
. A. Because without Christ, we can do noth-
ing.
Q. Can we get any blessing from God, except
through His Son Jesus Christ ?
A. No.
Q. Where then are we to come to Christ to
get a blessing ?
A. We are to come to Him in the church, of
which He is the Head. '
Q. Why must we come to Him there ?
A. Because. • j ' He is Head over all things unto
His church."
?ADVERri38fi»tT»:
*
THE CHIRCII' WTELLIfiEftXER,
DEVOliU) 10 THE ISTSRE8T3 OK
THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH,
IN TH3
CONFEDERATE STATES OP AMERICA,
IS PUBLISHED
EVERY FRIDAY,
IN
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA,
REV. T. S. W. MOTT, 1. M.,
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR .
rmmms of BUBscmpriout
FOR A SINGLE COPY,
Two Dollars and Fifty Cents
• PER ANNUM, IN ADVANCE.
To Clergymen, and Candidates for Holy Ordera,
the Paper will be sent at two dollars.
Bank bills of South Carolina, North Carolina, Post
Office stamps of the" Confederate States, or Confeder-
ate.Notes, will be received. Gold always acceptable,
but always, like all pay, at the risk of the subscriber.
M?§" See Advertisement in the Pap'r.
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American Libraries
TV News
Understanding 9/11